Russian Alexei Koval, charged in the United States with conspiring with his compatriot Igor Poteroba, pleaded guilty in Manhattan federal court to conspiracy and securities fraud on Friday.
As part of a plea deal, Koval, of Chicago, also agreed to forfeit at least $1.4 million in profit from illegal use of inside information in trades.
Poteroba, a former executive director at an American subsidiary of Switzerland-headquartered global financial services firm UBS, in December admitted passing insider information.
Poteroba, 37, was charged in Manhattan federal court in March and pleaded guilty in December to one count of conspiracy and three counts of securities fraud, admitting that he had tipped friends to potential mergers.
Poteroba, of Darien, Connecticut, worked in UBS Securities LLC's Global Healthcare Group. He in particular leaked information about six companies to Koval, 36, who traded on it.
Under an agreement with U.S. prosecutors, Poteroba pledged to forfeit $465,000 in proceeds from his illegal activity.
Both are scheduled to be sentenced on March 16.
MOSCOW, January 8 (RIA Novosti)